Boulevard of promising dreams

Apr 2, 2012

FOR the moment, while Swanston Street is under renovation and looks more as if the blitz has struck than a boulevard is being planned, one could be forgiven for assuming this is indicative of the CBD's wider traffic problems in streets in which private cars are actually allowed. For a city constantly on the move (as our number plates once proclaimed), Melbourne's road spaces are increasingly unable to cope with the volume of extra traffic. Despite the development of City Link, which has diverted much heavy traffic from across town to around it, congestion is still unavoidable.

Is it, therefore, the right time for the City of Melbourne to consider a proposal that favours not cars but bicycles, pedestrians and trams? The Melbourne Bicycle User Group believes it is: in fact, BUG wants the council to seize what it calls ''a once-in-50-years opportunity'' to extend Swanston Street's car-free lanes south across Princes Bridge, past the Arts Centre, to the National Gallery of Victoria. The idea, says BUG, is to transform a congested stretch of road into a friendlier, more cycle-sensitive zone, by diverting traffic west and east on to other roads into the city. The council, while not endorsing the proposal, says one of its priorities is improving bike links and rider safety; moreover, its bicycle plan for the city is due to be completed later this year. VicRoads says the northern end of St Kilda Road ''serves an important traffic function'', with an estimated 27,000 drivers a day using it.

What harm, though, is there in dreaming? A car-free spine bisecting the CBD is one thing; it it quite another thing to extend this - past Federation Square and the Flinders Street Station precinct (awaiting expected redevelopment), across one of the most beautiful and historically significant bridges in the country and into the greenery of what could be again Melbourne's premiere thoroughfare. Despite recent successful modifications, St Kilda Road is still not exactly bicycle-friendly. In fact, the street has yet to catch up with its ever-developing surroundings, particularly the Arts Centre, with its refurbished Hamer Hall providing greater public access to the Yarra bank, opening in July. In 2007, the Melbourne City Council's proposal to introduce ''Copenhagen-style'' bicycle lanes right along St Kilda Road to Princes Bridge was scuttled by the then state Labor government. The Age argued at the time that the road should be ''a boulevard for everyone to traverse and enjoy, cyclists included''. As it should still be. There is merit in BUG's proposal that is worth investigating further.